Barrier movement operator including time to close feature

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus for controlling a barrier movement operator having a timer-to-close feature are disclosed. The methods and apparatus include arrangements for conveniently inhibiting and re-activating the timer-to-close feature and for providing a mid-stop position during movement toward the closed position. Additionally, the embodiments include methods and apparatus for reversing barrier operation.

The present application is a reissue application of U.S. Pat. No.7,091,688 filed May 27, 2005 and issued Aug. 15, 2006, which is acontinuation of application Ser. No. 10/417,594 filed Apr. 17, 2003, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,034,484 issued Apr. 25, 2006, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to barrier movement operators andparticularly to such operators which include a timer-to-close feature.

Barrier movement operators are known which include a motor for moving abarrier between open and closed positions and a controller forselectively energizing the motor to move the barrier. Gate operators andgarage door operators are examples of the wide range of such barriermovement operators. The controller of a barrier operator may beresponsive to stimulus signals to perform various barrier movements withsafety. For example, the barrier operator may include a control switchwhich, when pressed, reverses the direction of travel of the barrier orstarts the barrier moving toward the open or closed position.

Most door movement has, for safety concerns, been under the control of ahuman operator. That is the barrier was opened or closed only when ahuman was present to provide a movement initiating stimulus. The human,being aware of the environment was a significant part of safely movingthe barrier. Humans, however, are not infallible and occasionally thebarrier is left open when it should be closed. Doing so may be energyinefficient by allowing heat or cool to escape from a space which shouldbe a closed interior or it may be unwise because unauthorized personsmay enter the area to be protected by the barrier.

In order to combat the problem of a left-open barrier, some systemsinclude a timer-to-close feature. This feature generally includes atimer which is enabled when the barrier is in the open position. Whenthe timer indicates that the barrier has remained open for apredetermined period of time, the barrier operator motor is energized tomove the barrier to the closed position. A barrier movement operatorwith a timer-to-close feature is generally equipped with special safetyequipment like an alerting light and/or audible signal which areactivated prior to moving the barrier to the closed position.

It may be desirable for a user to pause the timer-to-close feature forreasons such as airing out the interior space of which a human user isin control. Known systems with a timer-to-close feature generallyprovide no user controlled ability to pause the feature without shuttingthe feature off, requiring at least a complete recycle of the barrier oreven a reprogramming of the parameters of the feature. A need exists fora more convenient arrangement for pausing a timer-to-close feature.

Further, known operators having a timer-to-close feature move thebarrier directly from the open to the closed position. Such may notalways be desirable either for reasons of safety or for reasonspredicted by a human operator. A need also exists for a human controlledcapability to move the barrier first to a mid-travel stopping point,then to the closed position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of a barrier movement operator;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a controller of the barrier movementoperator and apparatus which interacts with the controller;

FIG. 3 represents apparatus for defining particular points of barriertravel;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of the inhibiting of a timer-to-close feature;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of barrier movement with a mid-travel pointdefined; and

FIG. 6 is a view of a wall control unit for signaling the controller.

DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a view of a barrier movement operator embodying the presentinvention. FIG. 1 shows a jack shaft balanced, powered jack shaft movedresidential garage door movement operator. It will be understood fromthe following that the improvements described and claimed herein applyto other types of barrier movement systems such as commercial dooroperators, rolling gate operators, swinging gate operators, other typesof balancing such as tension spring, and other types of movement such ashigh lift and powered rail and trolley.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a panel door 112 is raised and lowered in apair of side tracks 114 and 116. Door 112 is connected by cables 105 and107 to a pair of drums 104 and 108 disposed on a jack shaft 106 androtated under the power of a motor 150 contained by a head end 102. Themotor is selectively energized by a controller 208 and associatedapparatus (FIG. 2) to move the door 112 between a closed position, asshown in FIG. 1, and an open position. The controller 208, whichincludes a programmed microprocessor, responds to user input signalsfrom a wall control 124 and an rf transmitter 118 to initiate doormovement. Obstructions to door movement may be detected by an opticaltransmitter 138 and receiver 142 which “watch” the door opening todetect when an obstruction is beneath the door. Similarly, an optionaldoor edge sensor (not shown) may be attached to the bottom of the doorto detect physical contact with an obstruction.

When the barrier movement system is installed, the controller 208 istaught the open and closed positions of the door by known means so thatthe motor 150 is energized only long enough to move the door betweenthose limit positions. Such limit positions may be learned in thesoftware and data of controller 208, they may consist of physical doordetectors mounted to the rails, the garage, or the door, or they may bephysical switches within head end 102 which sense the movement ofrepresentations of the door position. FIG. 3 represents one apparatusinternal to the head end for setting limits of door travel.

The limit setting arrangement of FIG. 3 comprises a first limit switch145, a second limit switch 146, and a third limit switch 147. Each limitswitch includes an actuator lever, e.g., 148, which responds to contactby causing its associated switch to change from an open to a closedelectrical state. The state of all switches is reported to controller208 via a communication path 232. Also included is a threaded shaft 149which is connected to the output shaft of motor 150 to rotate therewith.In FIG. 3, the shaft is connected to motor 150 by means of a pulley 155and belt 156. Threaded onto shaft 149 are three switching cogs 152, 153,and 154 which are kept from rotating during normal operation by a guiderail (not shown) attached to a mounting plate 151.

The open and closed limits are set by cogs 152 and 154. They are set bylowering the door to the closed position, displacing mounting plate 151so that the cogs are free to rotate, and rotating cog 152 until switch145 changes state. Similarly, the open limit is set by moving the doorto the open position and adjusting cog 154 until switch 146 changesstate. After setting open and closed limits, controller 208 canaccurately control barrier movement.

After the barrier operator is installed, a user may press the commandbutton 134 of wall control which signals controller 208 via a path 126.Controller assesses the present state of the barrier based on variousinputs discussed and sends a signal on a communication path 220 tocontrol relays 222 which apply power to motor 150. For example, when thebarrier 112 is at the open limit and push button 134 is pressed,controller 208 energizes relays 222 to energize motor 150 to move thebarrier toward the closed limit. During such movement the opticalsensors 138 and 142, and other safety equipment, are surveyed to assuresafe movement of the door. A user can also initiate barrier movement byrf transmitting an appropriate security code from a transmitter 118 in amanner well known in the art. Such an rf transmission is received by areceiver 207 via an antenna 120 and the resultant received signal issent on to controller 208. A non-volatile memory 212 stores previouslylearned security codes and when a match exists between a previouslylearned code and a received code, the controller operates the door inthe same manner as if button 134 of wall control 124 had been pressed.

The present embodiment includes a timer-to-close feature which is inpart implemented with routines to be performed by controller 208. Thetimer-to-close feature automatically moves the barrier toward the closedposition when the barrier has been in the open position for apredetermined period of time. The predetermined period of time may bepreset and stored in controller 208 at the time of manufacture or it maybe established by known user controlled methods during installation. Thepresent embodiment adds to the timer-to-close feature by permitting theuser to conveniently inhibit operation of this feature. A switch 132 ofwall control 134 is used to enable and disable the timer-to-closefeature.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of the timer-to-close feature.The flow begins at block 161 which is entered whenever the door achievesthe open position. In block 161 the timer-to-close timer is started.Flow proceeds to block 163 in which when a determination is made as towhether the timer is active. When the timer is active, flow proceeds toblocks 165 and 167 where switch 132 is checked to see if it has beenpressed by a user. If not, flow proceeds to block 169 to determinewhether the timer has reached the predetermined time out value. If ithas not, flow returns to block 165. As long as the switch 132 is notpressed, the loop of blocks 165, 167, and 169 continues until time outis detected in block 169, and flow proceeds to block 171 where atimer-to-close flag is set indicating that door closing movement wasbegun by the timer-to-close time out. The motor 150 is then energized inblock 173 to move the door toward the closed position. When the doorreaches the closed position, the timer-to-close flag is reset.

Should a user press button 132 while the loop of blocks 165, 167, and169 is being executed, flow proceeds from block 167 to block 175 wherethe timer is turned off, which in the present embodiment includesresetting the timer. From block 175 flow returns to block 163 and on toblocks 177 and 179 where the state of switch 132 is again checked. Whenthere has been no change, flow returns to block 163 and a loopconsisting of blocks 163, 177 and 179 is repeatedly executed. Wheneverblock 179 detects a press of button 132, flow proceeds to block 161where the timer is again started and flow continues as previouslydescribed. Optionally the wall control 124 may include an LED 133 whichis energized by controller 208 when the timer-to-close is beinginhibited and is not energized when timer-to-close is in the normalmode.

As discussed with regard to FIG. 3, the barrier movement operatordescribed herein includes a limit switch 147 and corresponding limit cog153 which may be adjusted to identify to controller 208 a position ofthe barrier intermediate to the positions identified by switches 145 and146. The point at which switch 147 changes state is adjusted in themanner described previously with regard to switches 145 and 146. Withsuch adjustment, the controller 208 will be informed each time the doorpasses the intermediate position while moving between open and closedpositions. In the present embodiment, the passage of the intermediateposition while the door is traveling upwardly toward the open positionis ignored by controller. FIG. 5 is a flow diagram representing downwardor closing movement of the barrier during which the intermediateposition is responded to.

The routine of FIG. 5 is performed each time the motor 150 is energizedto move the barrier from the open position toward the closed position.The routine begins with the energization of motor 150 for downwardmotion in block 181. A block 183 is performed throughout downward doormovement to assure door movement safety. A decision block 185 is nextperformed to identify if the timer-to-close flag has been set. It willbe remembered that the timer-to-close flag is set in block 171 (FIG. 4)when the downward motion is initiated by time out of the timer-to-closetimer. When block 185 determines that the timer-to-close flag is set,flow proceeds to block 187 where a loop is performed until themid-travel position set by switch 147 is detected. When the mid-travelposition is reached, flow proceeds to block 189 and the motor is stoppedto await a mid-travel time out in block 191, at which point the motor isre-energized in block 193 and finally closed in block 195. When block185 determines that the barrier is moving toward the closed position forreasons other than the timer-to-close (such as in response to a usercommand), flow proceeds from block 185 to continue its closing thebarrier without regard for the mid-travel position.

In the embodiments discussed above, the barrier waits at mid-traveluntil a timer re-initiates door movement as represented in blocks 191and 193. Alternatively, blocks 191 and 193 could be replaced with asingle block 197 (shown in dotted line on FIG. 5) in which a usercommand is awaited to re-energize the motor.

Motor 150 can be energized to rotate either clockwise orcounter-clockwise by power provided from an up and down motor controlrelay unit 223 of relays 222. Whenever the barrier is to be moved,controller 208 transmits to the motor control relay unit 223 anappropriate set of signals to control relays 223 to rotate the motor ineither the clockwise or counter-clockwise. The choice of clockwise,counter-clockwise rotation is made by controller 208 operating underpre-programmed parameters which are set using assumptions about theinstallation of the operator. It is possible that, because of decisionsmade during installation a control signal which causes the motor torotate counter-clockwise will move the barrier toward the wrong limit.That is, the controller 208 may send a signal to relays 223 which isintended to raise a barrier and the result is that the barrier islowered.

Wall control unit 124 includes a two position switch in which oneposition indicates normal barrier travel and the other positionindicates the reverse barrier travel. Whenever the barrier motor is tobe energized, the controller 208 consults the switch 130 to determinewhether the motor is to be energized normally i.e., in accordance withpre-programmed parameters, or in the reverse. For example, bypre-programming, controller 208 may direct the motor to rotate clockwiseto move a barrier from open to closed position, and the installedgearing of the motor results in clockwise, rotation which moves thebarrier from closed to open position. Such reversal may also happen dueto placement of head end on the left of the doorway rather than on theright as shown in FIG. 1. When a user determines that the barrier ismoving in the opposite direction to that expected the user changes theposition of switch 130. At the next command to energize the motor,controller 208 detects the changed setting of switch 130 and directsrelays 223 to energize motor 150 for rotation opposite to theenergization before the change of switch position. Additionally,controller 208 reverses the sense of the limit switches e.g., 145 and146 so that proper door operation will result.

The preceding embodiments operate with a timer-to-close timer, the valueof which may be set in any manner. The following discusses two examplesfor setting the timer-to-close timer to a particular value. A firstexample begins when a user presses the timer learn button 187 137 for amomentary contact to which controller 208 responds by entering a buttonoriented learn mode. The button oriented learn mode operates with anoptional wall control 124′ which is shown in FIG. 6. Wall control 124′replaces wall control 124 for the present example.

In the button oriented learn mode, controller 208 responds to each pressof an open button 135 by adding five seconds to the timer count, to eachpress of a close button 136 by adding one minute to the timer count andresponds to a press of a stop button by clearing the timer count.Accordingly, when the button oriented learn mode is operational a userpresses a combination of buttons 135 and 136 to total the desired timervalue. The absence of button presses for a predetermined period of timee.g., 20 seconds, allows the controller to leave the learn mode andrevert to the operating mode.

A second method of setting the time out period of the timer-to-closetimer is a time based learn mode which is entered by holding the timerlearn button 187 137 closed for more than five seconds. In the timebased learn mode the barrier should be at the open position when button187 137 is pressed or the first act after entering the time based learnmode should be to move the barrier to the open position. Controller 208then counts the time that the barrier is in the open position. When theappropriate time has passed e.g., five minutes, the user presses eitherthe close button 136 (FIG. 6) or the timer-to-close button. The timebase for the timer-to-close timer then becomes the time that the barrierwas in the open position.

What is claimed is:
 1. A barrier movement operator comprising: a motorfor connection to a barrier to move the barrier between open and closedpositions; a controller for controlling the energization of the motor,the controller comprising a routine to energize the motor to move thebarrier toward the closed position when the barrier has been at the openposition for a predetermined period of time; a timer for identifying thepassage of the predetermined period of time; and inhibiting apparatusfor controlling the timer to inhibit the controller from energizing themotor in response to the passage of the predetermined period of time;and apparatus configured to reset the timer in response to useractuation of the apparatus.
 2. The barrier movement operator of claim 1comprising apparatus for resetting the timer.
 3. The barrier movementoperator of claim 1 wherein the inhibiting apparatus becomes operativein response to human interaction.
 4. The barrier movement operator ofclaim 3 wherein the inhibiting apparatus is responsive to humaninteraction for becoming inoperative after becoming operative.
 5. Thebarrier movement operator of claim 1 wherein the timer comprises a timerroutine of the controller.
 6. The barrier movement operator of claim 5wherein the controller responds to the inhibiting apparatus by endingexecution of the timer routine.
 7. The barrier movement operator ofclaim 5 wherein the controller responds to the inhibiting apparatus byresetting the timer.
 8. The barrier movement operator of claim 3comprising re-activation apparatus for stopping the inhibiting action bythe inhibiting apparatus.
 9. The barrier movement operator of claim 8wherein the re-activation apparatus is responsive to human interaction.10. A barrier movement operator comprising: a motor for moving a barrierbetween open and closed positions when energized; a controller forselectively energizing the motor to move the barrier from the openposition toward the closed position when the barrier has been in theopen position for a predetermined period of time and for stoppingmovement of the barrier at a predetermined mid-travel position betweenthe open and closed positions when the barrier is moving because thebarrier was at the open position for the pre-determined period of time.11. The barrier movement operator of claim 10 comprising apparatusresponsive to user interaction for energizing the motor to move thebarrier from the open position to the closed position.
 12. The barriermovement operator of claim 11 wherein the controller energizes the motorwithout stopping at the mid-travel position when operating in responseto user interaction.
 13. The barrier movement operator of claim 10comprising mid-stop apparatus for identifying the predeterminedmid-travel position.
 14. The barrier movement operator of claim 13comprising an indicator of the predetermined mid-travel position. 15.The barrier movement operator of claim 14 wherein the indicatorcomprises a physical switch disposed to change state on passage of thebarrier thereby.
 16. The barrier movement operator of claim 15 whereinthe physical switch comprises electrical contact.
 17. The barriermovement operator of claim 15 wherein the physical switch comprises atransmitter and receiver of optical signals.
 18. The barrier movementoperator of claim 14 wherein the indicator of mid-travel positioncomprises a software representation of barrier position.
 19. The barriermovement operator of claim 15 18 comprising apparatus for updating thesoftware representation of barrier position as the barrier moves. 20.The barrier movement operator of claim 10 comprising a timer to initiatebarrier movement from the mid-travel position toward the closedposition.
 21. A barrier movement operator comprising: a motor forconnection to a barrier to move the barrier between open and closedpositions; a controller for controlling the energization of the motor,the controller comprising a routine to energize the motor to move thebarrier toward the closed position when the barrier has been at the openposition for a predetermined period of time; a timer for identifying thepassage of the predetermined period of time; and inhibiting apparatusfor controlling the timer to inhibit the controller from energizing themotor in response to the passage of the predetermined period of time,wherein the inhibiting apparatus becomes operative in response to ahuman interaction via only a switch and without any other required humaninteraction and becomes inoperative after becoming operative in responseto a second human interaction via the switch and wherein humaninteraction with the switch effects resetting of the timer.
 22. Thebarrier movement operator of claim 21 wherein the switch comprises acontact push button.
 23. The barrier movement operator of claim 22wherein the contact push button comprises a momentary contact pushbutton.
 24. The barrier movement operator of claim 21 wherein the switchcomprises a two position switch.
 25. The barrier movement operator ofclaim 21 wherein the switch is configured to affect only whether theinhibiting apparatus is operative or inoperative.
 26. The barriermovement operator of claim 21 wherein the inhibiting apparatus includesan indicator representative of the operational status of the inhibitingapparatus.
 27. The barrier movement operator of claim 26 wherein theindicator comprises a light emitting diode, LED.
 28. The barriermovement operator of claim 26 wherein the indicator is active when theinhibiting apparatus is operative and is inactive when the inhibitingapparatus is inoperative.